politics. if i want him to be a part of my team, i have to find that which appeals to him that i have to offer. and that's enough for him, great. we'll take mark as we find him. what we try to do so often is we want to reshape. we have our litmus test, are you this? are you this that? you can't be that? you have to think this way. america is no longer in that mindset anymore. we are part of a bigger organism. it is fluid and we have feelings about a lot of different issues and a lot of different times. political parties have to adapt to that. obama did. he did it in '08 and he absolutely did in this election. and guess what? 69%, 70% hispanics with him. we are barely getting on to the table. so we have to accept our voters as we find them. our activists have to be a part of that to help get that message out there. i think we'll see some differences. but saying to marco rubio or

chris christie, i think is a mistake. >> you talk about reshaping. a lot of people think the attempt of reshaping mitt romney is what cost him this election. >> i said from day one, the governor of massachusetts should have been the guy running for president of united states. >> all right guys, stick with us. coming up on "way too early," elizabeth warren gets a win over scott brown in that closely watched massachusetts race. we'll look at how all the big races play out across the country, what it means for the coming fiscal fight on capitol hill. also ahead, bill karins going to join us from down democracy plaza with an update on this radar map a nor'easter headed straight for some of the same areas wiped out by last week's superstorm. we'll be right back at 30 rock in just a minute.

last night president obama became just the 17th president in u.s. hist troy win a second full term in office when he defeated mitt romney to reclaim the presidency. should he serve out the full second term, he'll be the 13th president in our country's hist troy do so. you want to sound smart today? tell your friends that president obama's re-election marks the first time, get this, since 1816 that the united states has had three consecutive presidents elected to a second term before president obama, of course, george w. bush and bill clinton. the last three consecutive two-term presidents were thomas jefferson, james madison, and james monroe. let's get a check on that weather system headed this way. bill karins outside on democracy plaza. bill, how bad is it? >> willie, for a small area that was hit the hardest by sandy, it's just going to be a cruel day. we're already watching the winds crank up. even in new york the winds are picking up. we're going to get a winter storm out of this with large waves at coastal areas. the first thing we deal with is

the winds. the winds are going to whip the waves up. you can see the storm coming up the coastline. and now the clouds are increasing. even the rain is going to begin to increase in areas along the mid-atlantic. the winds will be the first concern. the wind gusts are already really picking up along the jersey shore all through areas of long island. if we go over to our other weather computer on weather 2, you can see the wind gusts are the highest along the gulf coast and also down along the new england coastline. that's where we're going to see the worst damage from the winds. i think areas of long island could see some winds gusting possibly up to 50 to 70 miles per hour. we're also going to continue areas of possibly new england looking at winter weather advisori advisories. we could get snow out of this. even areas around philadelphia is under a winter storm warning. expecting five inches of snow. i expect the airports later today from philadelphia to new york city, especially think afternoon to probably be closed. they already have hundreds of flights canceled in those areas. so a lot of people that live along the coast in new jersey and also through central jersey

and southern new england, be prepared. you're going to go to work today. it will be just fine. when people come home, it will be heavy wet snow, sleet, and strong winds. it's not a fun day to be traveling anywhere in this region that is devastated by sandy. >> you look at the path of that thing, there are people still digging throughout rubble of their homes that are in front of that. keep an eye on that for us, bill. coming up, president obama all but sweeps the battleground states with only florida still left undecided. we'll have a live report from nbc's kelly o'donnell in ohio. the state everybody was watching last night. a special edition of "way too early" back to 30 rock in a moment.

well, it's 5:41 in the morning on east coast. we have a call that's just come into us at nbc. in minnesota's sixth district, michelle bachmann has been re-elected. the republican incumbent re-elected there in the state of minnesota by a very close margin. they were obviously counting these votes deep into the night. but now nbc has called michelle bachmann winning re-election in her district. well, president obama has won a second term. in the end the electoral talley, 303 for the president. 206 for mitt romney with florida still throughout and too close to call. and the popular vote, a difference of more than two million votes separated the candidates. after midnight, governor romney conceded the race in a short

speech. >> this is a time of great challenges for america and i pray that the president will be successful in guiding our nation. at a time like this, we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing. our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people's work. and we citizens also have to rise to the occasion. >> and there was a lot of other business last night outside the race for the white house. republicans had hoped to win control of the senate last night. in the end, it was democrats who were able to flip several seats in their favor. in massachusetts this is really the headline race, elizabeth warren reclaimed the late seat, the seat held by ted kennedy for democrats defeating senator scott brown. in connecticut, congressman chris murphy becoming the youngest member of the u.s. senate by defeating linda mcman who poured $42 million of her own money into the campaign. outspending murphy 4-1. in indiana, joe donnelly

completed his come back against richard murdoch winning that state's race. murdoch never recovering after suggesting a n. a debate last month that if a woman became pregnant by rape it was something god intended to happen. democrats also able to hold on to several seats considered up for grabs. todd akin's rape comment proved too much for him to overcome. in virginia, governor tim kane pulled out a victory against george allen. in ohio sherrod brown won over josh mendel. and in maine, independ angous king easily won the state's u.s. senate seat currently held by olympia snow. the one notable senate pickup for republicans in nebraska where deb fischer flibed ben nelson's seat defeating bob

kerrey. democrats hold 51 seats and harry reid already called on republicans to end their "strategy of obstruction gridlock and delay." we're still waiting for the official results from the races in montana, nevada, and north dakota. mark halpern, if we go back to the top of that list, elizabeth warren versus scott brown, tight all the way. what did elizabeth warren do in the end to win? >> she ran as a democrat in a state where the president won by a big margin. >> that helps. >> very difficult. they knew if the president won by 20 seats or more, it will be difficult to overcome. she made very few mistakes. and now she'll become one of the leading voices in the senate for progressives around the country. >> what does she bring to the senate? >> she brings that passion. and from a real liberal left perspective in terms of economic issues. she is a consumer advocate. she will be aligned with bernie sanders the independent and several others on that side of the spectrum.

she may make it very difficult for some of the regulators who are trying to do bank legislation and go along with business as usual. i think she will be a very strong voice. she has that spirit. she's proved she can be independent. she's not really reliant on any sources. i think brown was really hurt by taking the bank money, voting against t.a.r.p. several -- not t.a.r.p. but the dodd/frank bill. and also he had to get 20% of the democratic votes to win in that state. and that wasn't going to happen, not with such a strongly well identified base. >> when there is a fight in the senate, she'll be able to mobilize grassroots. >> michael, a lot of frustration in republican ranks about the races in missouri and indiana, seats they thought they should have taken. and now seeded back to democrats. partially because of the comments about rape. >> yeah.

enough said. look, the thing about it is whether you lay out these game plans and you run these races on paper, it all looks great. then you put live bodies in action. and they come up with these comments. the thing about the akin situation is the party ran away from him and then ran back to him. so the country looks at that and they go you're not principled here. we don't believe you on this issue. are you that really that outraged about what he said? so those things came back to bite. and we paid a price for it. now the question is how do we recover? >> quickly a high water mark. 19 women will be in the senate, both parties. and you'll also potentially have 20 depending on what happens in north dakota. >> let's bring in kelly o'donnell. she is standing by this columbus, ohio, this morning. kelly, ohio was the state everyone was looking at. it was the one that everybody said all eyes there and we'll know who will be the next president. how did it play out last night? >> it certainly got tense at sometimes, willie.

certainly voters throughout the day when we were polling places, you could really tell they had a sense that they had a big role to play. as the evening went, there was almost a bit of surprise at how early it was called. the officials here at the state house had been telling us be prepared for a late night. it could even go into the late counting of provisional ballots that would happen later this month. but that was not to be. the models that everyone was using to forecast this put ohio in the president's column and then there was a wait a minute moment where the romney campaign was not satisfied that enough votes had been counted yet. they felt there was potential to close the gap and overtake the president in some precincts they thought were going to go their way. there was a pause in the evening, a tense time when especially operators on the ground here in ohio for romney wanted to take a bit of a breath, a bit of a delay in how the night concluded. but then it became very clear in talking with officials here at

the secretary of state's office that the trend was going away from romney toward the president. and it looks like everyone is taking a look at where the numbers fell. the issue of the auto bailout was certainly critical. helping the president, hurting romney. a state romney needed to have just was not going to go his way. and the night fell for the president. and then at that point, of course, people here began to filter away from the republican party, the actual party in the sense. the returns come in just down the street. we saw that breaking up in the wee hours. that was the final sign. all the events in chicago and we also heard from governor romney who was gracious in saying he and his wife and family would pray for the president and would hope that country could move forward, striking some of that bipartisan tone that maybe many voters would have liked to have seen more of throughout the campaign. ohio, important again. and ohio ending up a little bit

earlier than many had predicted. willie? >> and mitt romney getting 100,000 fewer votes in the state of ohio last night than john mccain did four years ago. a disappointing showing there. kelly, you got some new faces to cover on capitol hill. we'll let you get back to work. thanks so much. we appreciate it. >> coming up, what will the next four years look like now? we'll break down the big issues on the president's plate as he enters a second term from the fiscal cliff to immigration reform. keeping on that special edition of "way too early" live from 30 rock on this morning after the election.

fnchts you're just waking up at 5:52 a.m. on the east coast, president obama has been re-elected, defeating mitt romney by two million votes and sweeping through most of the swing states. mitt romney did take north carolina. florida is still out there. most observers believe given the votes that still remain,

president obama will take florida as well. despite securing his re-election, president obama faces a challenging second term in office after a $6 billion in campaign spending, the balance of power in washington barely changes with losses in missouri, virginia, and massachusetts. but with returns still coming in, the republican party expanded the majority in the house by at least a few votes. house speaker john boehner said last night yesterday's vote means there was no mandate for further tax hikes including raising rates on wealthier americans. that is something the president is pushing for. and mitch mcconnell said of the president, to the extent he wants to move to the political center which is where the work gets done in a divided government, we'll be there to meet him half way. in his next term, president obama will have to avoid that fiscal cliff we've all been talking about. navigate the debt ceiling debate, coordinate the drawdown from afghanistan among other things. he is also under pressure to

come up with comprehensive immigration reform. mark halpern, i asked you earlier but i'll ask you again, why should we believe things will be different this time? is it just becausest fiscal cliff? if we do clear the fiscal cliff, why does that change the politics? >> if they get a big deal like that, i think the bipartisan muscles will work and the personal relationships will be required. that's, to me, the big missing element. there is not in the first term particularly the last year of the president's first term there is not a lot of warmness between the president and mitch mcconnell and john boehner. they're both back as the leaders of their party. he has to breakthrough in order to have at least trust if not warm fuzziness. >> how are second terms generally different for a president? is it a liberation? >> should be. but they can be perilous. remember, iran-contra. we don't have to speak to the clinton second term. there are a lot of pitfalls. and i think the real challenge here is obama white house really

reaching out to the hill. i know they've been rebuff repeatedly. they have to have better congressional relations and expand the cabinet and the white house beyond the comfort zone for this president. he really has to figure out a way to widen that circle of advice. >> michael steel, give us some hope. give americans hope about why washington will change. why the fever will break in a president obama second term. >> as a native washingtonian, you've come to the wrong place. i grew up with this stuff. the reality of it is i think both mark and andrea are absolutely right. the linchpin to that is his cabinet secretaries. that will begin to break the ice, put those folks in the mix with the members and the house and senate to develop that relationship, to carry the president's agenda. the leadership, sometimes that may not mesh at the top. but you want it to mesh somewhere in that chain. i think those cabinet secretaries can be beneficial to this president to help him begin to open up some doors that have

up to now been shut. >> all right. we'll see if the status quo holds. we have a democratic president re-elected. we have a democratic senate and a republican house. not much has changed. we'll see if the politics of washington do. mark halpern, michael steel, andrea mitchell, especially up all night, thank you for coming in. everybody, thank you so much. we'll see each of you coming up on a special edition of "morning joe" live from studio 8-h from 30 rock just moments away. we'll be right back.